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what can we do for you? >> and now, "bbc world news." >> this is bbc world news america reporting from washington. i'm jane o'brien. independence day is here. the south sudan becomes the world's newest nation, but many challenges lie beyond the celebrations. and although the blood has been pulled on britain's most scandalous newspaper, hacking continues. >> america will continue the dream with the space shuttle liftoff. >> the u.s. space program reaches the end of an era with hundreds of thousands watching on. ♪

>> welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. just an hour ago, the world welcomed a new nation when the republic of south sudan officially regained -- officially gained its independence. it comes after a brutal civil war and a peace deal with the south and north. celebrations are already under way, but there are huge challenges, including continued violence along the border. >> the final march 2 independence. i will never leave my land until i die, the song heard throughout the decades of war with north sudan. and now they have their land and south sudan is born. ♪ [singing] ♪

>> with a little help the reverse of the brand new national anthem. -- they rehearse the brand new national anthem. because of the war, south sudan will start out as one of the poorest nations on the planet. >> when we were ruled by the north we had no opportunities, the village chief tells me. our children could not go to school. things are now going to change. we will see development here. >> for now, this is where the money is going. peace is still on shaky ground. in the south, three times as much money is spent on military compared to education and health combined. >> these are the soldiers of the spla, the army that fought against the khartoum government. it can all of the people with the guns stay united, or will

rebel groups pop up? like this group that just last week declared war in the south where clashes between tribes are common. the border area is rich in oil. just inside the north, the president's warplanes dropped bombs to crush a rebellion. instead of sharing the oil, the two countries will keep fighting for more. >> we are absolutely committed to peace. of our people have suffered for too long, 58 years of war. it is in the interest of the north and south to be at peace. the for the survival of the two states, it is essential that we maintain two viable states, and i think the message is getting through. >> the struggle for southern independence is over. the struggle for peace is just

beginning. >> for more on this historic moment, i spoke to will just a moment ago will, it looks like a nonstop party behind you. what is the atmosphere like? >> themes of jubilation here. people have come out onto the streets, driving cars up and down the road, waving the flag of south sudan. even before midnight, thousands of people had come out on the streets to celebrate the birth of a new nation. many people told me they are dedicating this independence to the relatives they lost during the long civil war against the north. there are remarkable scenes across the city. many people have been sleeping at a church for the last two weeks, praying for this day. they have been pressing for independence for south sudan. saturday, the official ceremony will take place and the lowering of the flight of sudan.

but this is where the party is happening. i think it will go on all night. >> when the celebration eventually dies down and reality sets in, what difference will independence actually make for the everyday lives of the people of south sudan? >> that is a good question. for the last six years or so, the southern government has actually been in charge here in the south. they have not been directly under the rule of khartoum. some people say not enough has changed over the last six years. there has been an incredible amount of oil money available here in the south. maybe people want more changes. i think there will be more money available from the oil. more of it will be there for the government in the south to use. but they do have to export it through the north and they have to work get a deal about how much money they will hand over

to khartoum to use that pipeline. in the short term very little will change for the people in the south. it could take a generation, or several, to address the problems this new country now faces. the health indicators, for example, are nothing short of staggering. one in seven children does not live to see their fifth birthday. there are huge security problems across the south. different rebellions are popping up. and there is still a lot of worry about the north/south border. it is rich in oil and some people still think there may be a fight for control of the oil between the north and south. there are lots of problems, but for now, the party goes on. >> thank you for joining us. among the problem-rich south sudan -- among the problems south sudan must face are the

warnings that 10 million opeople are at risk of starvation. tens of thousands are making the trek to the refugee camps every day. here is the latest report. >> this is a dusty, a desolate place, and the drop is forcing thousands of rape -- the drought is forcing thousands of refugees to seek refuge here. tiny bodies ravaged by malnutrition and dehydration. katharina andre is a swiss nurse here. she told me recently that she cried with one another. >> it happened to me last week. i arrived outside a house. i saw flowers and the baby was ill. i took it and tried to do

something. but i could not do anything. it died in my arms. >> she knows this little one is also hovering between life and death. his mother agrees to take him to a hospital, but only reluctantly. she has five more children to care for and was prepared to let this one died, a sacrifice to save the others. >> we have some instances where families have already prepared the children for death. we had to intervene and tell them, no, this is not -- not possible. this child is still alive and can make it. >> it is becoming increasingly overcrowded and unsanitary here as well. the aid workers are stretched to the very limit and more people are arriving every day. thousands of them are fleeing from civil war and now a drought as well in their native somalia. no one has any intention of

going on anytime soon. >> but the aid is making a difference here. on monday, we show these pictures of a chronically malnourished baby. this is him now. his doctors say he is out of danger and gradually growing stronger. amidste erlsth ais misery there is also hope. >> been out to libya where for the first time in six weeks the rebels in the city of misrata say they have made to the begin gains in their campaign toward the capital of tripoli. gabriel of the bbc has been talking to the rebels on the front lines, where he sent this report from. >> an extraordinary exchange has taken place here. just a few days ago when we were here there were scores of men firing their guns, firing off rockets from behind this sandbank over in that direction. you can see the amount of spent cartridges and littered up

around the place, evidence of the fighting. now the place is almost completely empty. it down that road is where they have gone. rebel fighters have been coming back, saying they have now dug in seven or 8 kilometers in that direction. this is the first time the front line has moved in six weeks. it is a small breakthrough for the deadlock. some of the fighters that we have spoken to coming back from the front say that during all of the intensive fighting that they have seen in the past few days, there have been many casualties. they say nato has done absolutely nothing. they say they have heard their planes circling in the skies, but they have not helped out, as they see it. they believe that nato could finish this tomorrow, but they do not want to. we can hear the rockets still falling in the distance. that is the direction the rebels want to go. they believe this is a key town.

once it falls, they believe the road to tripoli is open. it is still going to be a hard fight. >> in syria today, anti- government protestors say 13 people have been killed in the latest protests in cities across the country. thousands of syrians poured across the streets of damascus and other cities, rejecting the government's offer of a national dialogue and calling for an end rule.sident izoassad's and the fallout from the scandal of britain's best known newspaper continues today. the paper's editor -- after serving as the paper's editor, andy kaufman went on to serve the prime minister.

>> this scandal is not going away. it embraces the press, the police, and politicians. as he fights to prevent damage to his own government, david cameron admits that the political class could have done more to stop it. >> because party leaders were so keen to win the support of newspapers we turned a blind eye -- a blind eye to get on these practices to change the way these newspapers are regulated. the people in power new things were not right, but they did not do enough quickly enough until the fullness of the situation was revealed. >> but around the time the prime minister was speaking, this former editor was arrested by police. until january of this year, he was david cameron's communications represent of.

he has always denied the hacking. >> he resigned from the news of the world because of the things that happen on his watch. i decided to give him a second chance and no one has ever raised serious concerns about how he did his job for me. but the second chance did not work out and he had to resign all over again. the decision to hire him was mine and mine alone, and i take full responsibility for it. >> as for the questions about the position of news international's chief executive in the u.k., mr. cameron said this. >> on the case of rebecca gross, i do not think is right for the prime minister to start picking and choosing who should run and you should not run the organizations. that has been reported that she offered resignation over this, and in this situation, i would have taken it. >> david cameron has done his

best to distance himself from the scandals, but questions about his own judgment and his french of continue. especially now that some say they warned him years ago about hiring the former news of the world editor. >> for president obama, the u.s. economy has been the overriding johnson he took office. today comes with more disappointing -- the overriding challenge since he took office. today comes with more disappointing news. the unemployment rate is back up to 9.2%. but what can be done to get america hiring again? we have a senior writer for bloomberg business week joining us from new york. robin, how could these figures fall so far below expectations? >> it is because we are in such a and chartered territory. it is unbelievable, the extent to which economists missed on this. it was assumed there would be on

the level of 110,000 jobs created and we get something on the order of one-tenth of that. it shows you how blind sighted people are in this business. there has never been a direct and a lot for this great recession. people try to use 1992 as an example, -- 1982 as an example, but we did not have these pressures in 1982. everybody is winning it. >> is it the private sector not picking up the slack? >> it is the private sector, and the public sector shedding jobs. you look at illinois, california, they are looking to let go of workers in order to rightsize their cost structure with the reality of the day. they cannot come through on promises that they made when coffers were more flesh. unfortunately, hurts the economy at a time when we can ill afford more and more people

scared that they will lose their jobs. it is not a good thing when you are only creating 18,000 jobs per month. >> what impact will this have on the budget? ? the democrats and republicans are already hopelessly divided on the deficit. is this going to make matters worse? >> in a more collegiate time in washington he would look at 9.2% unemployment in washington and seek and more immediate need for stimulus. -- and to see a more immediate need for stimulus. we talked about qe2.5 or 3, you know, conjuring money out of thin air. but a lot of that has been worn down. there is talk about washington needing to cut the taxpayers some slack.

but republicans certainly do not want to blink on this debate over the debt ceiling. and they do not want to give them another several hundred billion dollars lifeline to make it through the election season. >> thank you. you are watching bbc world news america. still to come, giving the royals a rodeo sendoff as canada says goodbye to the duke and duchess of cambridge. they do it in cowboy fashion. in egypt, it has been nearly five months since president hosni mubarak was overthrown, but today, thousands of protesters were out again in force. from cairo to suez there were demanding a quicker pace of reforms. >> once more they have flooded into tahrir square. it was the largest

demonstrations as the crowds here unseated president mubarak five months ago. since then, the egyptians have become steadily more frustrated about the pace of change. they say that behind the scenes the same officials are still in control of powerful positions, like the interior ministry. >> after five months of revolution we have seen no changes. a few days ago we have seen violence, teargas. >> one banner has a caricature of hosni mubarak with the words, "we will get you." but one thing that frustrates the protesters is that the military rulers seem to be dragging their feet in bringing the president and inner circle to trial. >> there is growing bitterness amongst many egyptians about the way things are going. that is bad news for those trying to run this country. >> their anger has already

boiled over in suez, where there were riots earlier this week over policeman accused of shooting protestors. elsewhere, there are complaints of high food prices and lack of security. here in tahrir square, the police stayed away to avoid trouble. the protesters are about to host a sit-in. this could be the beginning of >> we have liftoff. they were the words that everyone in cape canaveral florida was waiting for today. the space shuttle atlantis did not disappoint. for the very last time the space shuttle took to the skies. >> the cheers for a moment of history for astronauts about to

fly on the final space shuttle. it is the end of an era. with three hours to go, the crew clamored inside. the launch is on. >> good luck to you and your crew on the final flight of a true american icon. >> ignition, the shuttle has flown for 30 years, now the last countdown -- 2, 1, 0, and lift off. the final lift off of atlantis. even from 3 miles away is staggeringly bright as the shuttle source at 17,000 miles per hour. it is incredible. and any second now, here it comes, the great wave of sound. you can actually feel it inside you. huge crowds were watching an emotional side. [cheers and applause] >> i wanted to see a shuttle launch more than anything, and

the final one, that makes it even better. >> we can all away from virginia. >> the mission is to deliver supplies to the international space station. who will do the job after the shuttle? for several years at least, russian rockets will be the only way americans will reach space. humiliating for the nation to put men on the moon. nasa wants private companies to step in. this commercial system could ferry astronauts in three year'' time. where does this lead? there are talks of missions to asteroids and mars, but manned space flight is in disarray. >> what a mistake to retire the shuttle without a replacement. despite all of the political puffery and flimflam talking about commercial space

operations, we do not have those yet. >> it will return in 12 days, where america will face tough questions about its future in space. >> for more on today's launch, i spoke to the bbc correspondent in cape canaveral today. >> what was the atmosphere? >> it is estimated at more than 1 million people made their way to wave goodbye not just to atlantis, but to the u.s. shuttle program. you got a sense from david's report that it was an experience. if you do not just see it. you feel it. but it was an emotional moment. the kennedy space center has been home to great exploration. it was from here that apollo 5 set off for the moon landing.

saying goodbye to atlantis was saying goodbye to an era of american space flight. who knows what the future will hold? >> what is next? will it be nasa leading the way or private space companies? >> when the shuttle launched, they believe that they will go back to the moon and mars. but it is difficult to see what and when is going to succeed the shuttle. it is clearly a lot of money. it has inspired a generation. people want nasa and america to inspire another generation. we will have to see if america can deliver on that. >> and now prince william and the duchess of cambridge are on their way to los angeles after a tour of canada. they spent their last day in calgary dressed down in

cowboy attire, and for good reason. this report contains some flash photography. >> the final stop in canada on their first overseas tour together. it culminated in calgary, home of canada's cowboys, where william and kate launched the calgary rodeo, the calgary stampede. it has been nine days, which according to william, have far surpassed their expectations. no country is capable of a more devoted welcome, bartoli with a gun and glamorous couple as these two -- particularly with a young and glamorous couple as these two. it has been a visit for which the couple's down-to-earth style has been perfectly suited.

this visit was pretty much guaranteed to be a success, one of the reasons for coming to canada. and so many canadians are so enthusiastic about the royal family. but the fact that it has been such a spectacular success is down to the couple themselves. everywhere they have been they have shown an and steffi side to royalty. it is not new. others have been capable of it, but they have demonstrated what a potent impact of two young royals working together are capable of having. tonight, they said goodbye, promising to return, and headed off to california. >> that brings us to the end of today's broadcast. i am jane o'brien. for all of us here at bbc world news america, thank you very much for watching and have a great weekend. ♪

>> make sense of international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vt., and honolulu, newman's own foundation, and union bank. ♪

>> union bank has put its global expertise to work for a wide range of companies. what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news america" was presented by kcet, los angeles.